Eagles 29 - Notre Dame 0
Eagles Start Quickly, Shut Out Knights
SHERMAN OAKS, CA., September 18, 1992 – For the second straight week the Eagles (2-0) dominated both sides of the ball in a 29-0 victory on the road against Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
Mike Gillissie capped a 20-point first quarter with an interception return of 50 yards for a touchdown, as the defense recorded its only shutout of the year.
The deepest threat of the game for the Knights (1-1) was to their own 47, and the next play was the interception by Gillissie.
The offense scored on its first two possessions on touchdowns by Brian Finneran and Kevin Duffy. O'Brien, again, had an outstanding night with 214 yards passing and 67 yards rushing.
The offense slowed down a bit after the opening quarter, but still managed to score on a 23-yard field goal and a 17-yard run by O'Brien.
The defense limited the Knights to 112 total yards total offense, and they raised their team interceptions to five.
"I was a little disappointed that we were a little sloppy," Eagles Coach Jim Hartigan said of the offense. "If we can get rid of the sloppiness, we'll be even better. The defense was outstanding."
| Santa Margarita | 20 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 29 |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SM – Brian Finneran 9 pass from O'Brien (kick failed)
SM – Duffy 11 run (Gillessie pass from O'Brien)
SM – Gillessie 50 interception return (kick failed)
SM – FG O'Brien 23
SM – O'Brien 17 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: O'Brien 14-67, Tiernan 12-57
Passing: O'Brien 12-23-0, 214, .521%, 1 TD
Receiving: Brian Finneran 7-142, Brad Finneran 3-41
Defense: Sulick 9 tackles; Gillessie 3 tackles, 1 int., 1 TD; Winkelmann 5 tackles, 1 sack; Bd. Finneran 4 tackles, 1 int
O'Brien passes, runs Santa Margarita to victory
SHERMAN OAKS – Santa Margarita High has yet to play in a league game, but from all indications, the team's first season in the Sea View League should be a success.
The Eagles improved to 2-0 with a convincing 29-0 nonleague victory at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks on Friday.
Senior quarterback Sean O'Brien passed for 208 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another score to lead the Eagles.
O'Brien even led the Eagles in rushing with 60 yards on 16 carries.
Santa Margarita has one nonleague game remaining before it opens its league schedule, something Eagles coach Jim Hartigan is anticipating.
"We are definitely looking forward to it," Hartigan said. "We know it's going to be a rough road ahead."
The road through Notre Dame was not as tough though as the Eagles cruised to a 20-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game.
On the first drive, O'Brien took the Eagles 80 yards in 13 plays, giving the team a 6-0 lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran.
Finneran had seven catches for 136 yards in the game.
On their next possession, the Eagles took a 14-0 lead after an 11-yard touchdown run by Kevin Duffy, with 4:09 still left to play in the opening quarter.
O'Brien, who missed the extra-point on the Eagles first touchdown, was able to hook up with Mike Gillissie on a two-point conversion on the second score.
Notre Dame began to move the ball on its ensuing possession, but on third down and four fron its own 47-yard line, Notre Dame quarterback Kelly Moran had his pass intercepted by Gillissie, who returned it 48-yards, to give Santa Margarita a 20-0 lead.
O'Brien connected on a 28-yard field goal early in the second half for a 23-0 lead and then scored a touchdown from 17-yards out with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Though seemingly efficient, Hartigan saw room for improvment.
"I was a little disappointed that we were a little sloppy," he said. "If we can get rid of that sloppiness, we'll be even better."
On the defense: Santa Margarita had two interceptions (Gillissie and Brad Finneran).
Noteworthy: Santa Margarita has scored 71 points this season.
By Doug Padilla
Saturday, September 19, 1992
The Orange County Register - D4
Orange County Football Top Ten
1. Los Alamitos..........2-0
2. Esperanza.............2-0
3. Mission Viejo.........1-0
4. Trabuco Hills.........1-0
5. Servite...............1-0-1
6. Rancho Alamitos.......1-1
7. Mater Dei.............1-0-1
8. Irvine................1-1
9. Santa Margarita.......2-0
10. Valencia.............1-1
